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New guy with questions

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themow

Rough_Rock
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Mar 26, 2013
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Thanks to all the contributors that make this forum what it is. I have been lurking for a few weeks and am impressed by the level of help people give.

I am looking for an engagement ring. We live in philly and went to jewelers row to look at styles to see what we prefer. We decided that we like and want a cushion cut in a halo with no bezel. When we were there looking, we were seeing stones around 1ct and they upwards of $5-7500 which I though was high but had nothing to base that on. I have been using the search tool here to find cushion cut stones and am a bit confused. I guess what confuses me most is why some prices differ so much even though color, clarity, cut and weight are similar. I keep seeing solomon brothers with what seems like amazing deals. I am posting a photo of 2 stone comparison from Solomon. I am wondering are these going to look cheap?

screen_shot_2013-03-26_at_2.png


She/we want something like this
http://www.pricescope.com/gallery/acidfree_albums/vendors/well_adorned/Platinum_Halo_Cushion_Setting

I plan on finding the stone first and then finding a setting. Is this method preferred when looking to save some $$?
 
cut quality varies wildly.

Solomon Brothers doesn't have a huge inventory of cushions with pictures readily available. this is necessary.
 
JulieN|1364325324|3413855 said:
cut quality varies wildly.

Solomon Brothers doesn't have a huge inventory of cushions with pictures readily available. this is necessary.


When you say this is necessary, are you referring to having a huge inventory of cushions with pictures?
 
pictures are necessary. inventory, everyone handles that a little differently. Engagement Rings Direct is a popular cushion vendor, they make a lot of cushion halo rings.

Good Old Gold carries some cushion brands that are cut for a very high level of optical performance: August Vintage has large and chunky facets; Brellia is like a hearts and arrows round in a cushion shape; there are some Signature modern cushions if you like the glittery look.

James Allen has a large inventory you have to sift through.

A lot depends on what you want for your budget
 
I would agree that Good Old Gold has the best selection of cushions. I'd recommend Victor Canera, Steven Kirsch, or Engagement Rings Direct for the setting, depending on your setting budget.

Here are some examples of different styles of cushions:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7958/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7958/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7958/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10291/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10042/

And stones lists are under the heading, Fancy Varieties:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamondSearch.php
 
I would also consider mark from ERD. I was directed to him when a friend was looking for her cushion, she eventually bought hers from ID jewelry in NYC
 
THank you for all the replies. I did not know that the cushion cut was so complicated. I am making my budget for the stone around 3K and 2k for the setting. Reasonable? Initially, when looking at the stone search, I though I would be looking at stones upwards of 1.25ct from solomon for that price. I am now not so sure of this.
 
themow|1364399288|3414538 said:
THank you for all the replies. I did not know that the cushion cut was so complicated. I am making my budget for the stone around 3K and 2k for the setting. Reasonable? Initially, when looking at the stone search, I though I would be looking at stones upwards of 1.25ct from solomon for that price. I am now not so sure of this.

Would she consider a round? With a $3k stone budget, a cushion is just going to be too small, in my opinion (because you are looking at less than a carat for sure). Rounds face up larger. And a good custom halo is about $3000-4500. You can get a one for less such as this in white gold:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10526/
 
1.25 cts, were you looking at EGL? no way you can reasonably reach 1.25 ct without I1 clarity or K color or something like that for 3000.
 
diamondseeker2006|1364401909|3414563 said:
themow|1364399288|3414538 said:
THank you for all the replies. I did not know that the cushion cut was so complicated. I am making my budget for the stone around 3K and 2k for the setting. Reasonable? Initially, when looking at the stone search, I though I would be looking at stones upwards of 1.25ct from solomon for that price. I am now not so sure of this.

Would she consider a round? With a $3k stone budget, a cushion is just going to be too small, in my opinion (because you are looking at less than a carat for sure). Rounds face up larger. And a good custom halo is about $3000-4500. You can get a one for less such as this in white gold:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10526/

I am pretty sure she/we want to stick with a cushion. The ones I was looking at are on the price search on this site. Not egl. Just GIA. Is EGL much more prestigious? White gold is fine.
 
I would stick to GIA or AGS :). Also, many of the vendors have a good price march guarantee, I would ask them about it when shipping around.
 
themow said:
I am pretty sure she/we want to stick with a cushion. The ones I was looking at are on the price search on this site. Not egl. Just GIA. Is EGL much more prestigious? White gold is fine.

The ones on your first post are EGL graded. Most if not all PS'ers will tell you to stay away from EGL stones.

You should be able to get an excellent stone in the range of G/H, approx .75 ct - I took a look and ERD has quite a few (virtual inventory). I'm not a cushion expert by any means, but perhaps you could contact ERD and get a few good examples from them to take a look at.
 
Charmy's guide on How to Make a Harry Winston Inspired Halo Ring: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-101-my-experience-in-making-a-harry-winston-halo.183473/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cushion-101-my-experience-in-making-a-harry-winston-halo.183473/[/URL]

I highly recommend reading the link above. For your budget your options are slighly more limited so you either have to wait a bit longer to find that needle in the haystack or up your budget. I would like to second DS's suggestion to switch to a round. Cushions face up smaller then most diamonds so a 1ct modern round brilliant will be much larger then a 1 carat cushion. Does your GF realize this?

The other issues is there are MANY types of cushions. You need to find out what facet pattern your girlfriend likes. Does she want a modern cushion or an older cut cushion? The link above will explain some differences.

2k for a setting is really pushing it for a halo. Which typically are a bit more expensive. I think Gabriel and Co has some nice options through IDJ. You migtht also contact Mark at ERD as others have mentioned. I think his settings start at 2.5k but might be more reasonable in WG. Even then WG is not that much cheaper then PLAT.

Have you thought about proposing with a solitare and then perhaps on your 1 year getting the halo? That might spread out the expense a bit more so you can get the best of both worlds? I know my ering came in "stages." :bigsmile:

Edit: for horrible spelling :?
 
I looked all over because I love cushions and originally wanted to get one as well. But, it was really difficult to get the pictures that you need to really judge a cushion cut. I tried with B2C Jewels and they responded weeks later and asked via email, "What was it that you were looking for again?" LOL. They are also one of the bargain cushion cut vendors that I found. Blue nile does not have actual pictures of the cushion cuts but James Allen does. I would recommend watching this thread on youtube because it really helped me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O7H8E_MYRM

and 3 other helpful ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N0y-E-Xg1M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQpGEIZAaas

http://www.truthaboutdiamonds.com/truth-about/diamond-shapes/cushion-cut-engagement-rings/

The Truth about Diamond site by Ira Weissman has lots of good information, I just didn't like the way he sometimes pushed one particular vendor in his recommendations. Otherwise, lots of good info. By the way, I ended up going in person to Whiteflash because they had what looked like some cushion cuts and instead fell in love with their RBs. What I recommend and read all over pricescope and elsewhere was that YOU MUST SEE THE ACTUAL PICS of the diamond for cushion cut and other fancy cuts. Otherwise, you are just making an educated guess when buying online as you can't judge a cushion cut by just the 4 c's (cut, carat, color, etc.) Watch the video and ask for pics is what I recommend. Good luck!

Nubia
 
Thank all of you for all the replies. It took me going to jewelers row here in philly and seeing many cushions to decide what exactly i am looking for. Most of the cushions I was seeing were crushed ice and not very appealing to me. One jeweler showed me an old mine cut. This is what I was after the whole time. I also saw an old european and loved it too. I love the chunky facets and thick light reflections. My only issue now is that there are very few of them available to see in person. I am going back tomorrow to see one that a jeweler was able to get in. I think i may also visit a few pawn shops to see if i can get lucky and find something sitting on the shelf. I saw the august vintage and the cut beyond and really do love the way both of them look. That thread that was posted above may have been the most helpful piece of info I have read to date. That and GOG youtube videos.
 
I made a purchase!!! I bought an old european cut 1.37 M SI1. I paid $2800. I showed the lady and she loves the sparkle and flash of the old stones. Now I have to find a cushion halo for a round stone. I dont see too many of them. Can anyone make any recommendations. I will take pictures as soon as I get my dslr back. These stones are hard to accurately photograph!!!
 
I finally chose an old european cut with a cushion shaped halo. She loves it. The stone weighs 1.37 and is 6.5mm round.

img_20130502_110240.jpg
 
oh stunning. What setting did you go with? That stone is so white!
 
Wow the ring turned out gorgous. Seems almost to good to be true. and found a perfect stone in your price range wow that like never happens. it is gorgous....Glad you are both happy
 
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